MC was a labor of love for both Vivek and me. We set out to create the “best goddamn comic book” we could, and poured our heart into it. Now as I look back over the four long years it took to finally reach this stage, I can’t but feel a little bit proud of what we’ve achieved. We’ve managed to put out a book that is (for all intents and purposes) the first “Indian” crime-noir comic book. We couldn’t have done this without the support of our fans, friends and family. Industry veterans like Mike Carey, David Lloyd, and Bart Sears (to name a few) encouraged us with feedback and comments. I’m especially indebted to my mentor and friend Ron Marz for supporting the MC project with his kind attention and feedback from day one. (Ron also provided the foreword for the hardcover edition). Both Vivek and I would like to thank Gotham Chopra, Arnab Ray, Samit Basu, and Anupam Sinha for taking the time to write the forewords for the digital issues that ran from July 2012 to Feb 2013 on ComiXology.

A hearty round of thanks also goes out to Sid Kotian, Mohan Prabhu, Devaki Neogi, Saumin Patel, Shounak Jog, and Vinay Brahmania for doing the Mumbai Confidential interludes (backup shorts) that are also collected in the the hardcover volume.

In many ways, MC was an experiment – an attempt at blending the universal sensibilities of noir with a fresh and unique setting (the genre born out of this fusion is sometimes referred to as “Mumbai Noir”). So it was a great kicker of a moment for both Vivek and me, when the acknowledged grandmaster of this genre – Anurag Kashyap invited us to meet him at Sundance 2013. He even tweeted about MC later.

On 14th May, 2013 MC debuted at #9 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases list for Graphic Novels/Mystery (rubbing shoulders with CRIMINAL, FATALE, FROM HELL and few other choice classics).

I love a book that comes out of left field and just floors you. For me that was MUMBAI CONFIDENTIAL. A gritty cop story that doesn’t look like anything else on shelves, Mumbai Confidential is a stunningly good book.

I found myself not just sucked in, but sucked in so much I had to complete it in one day. It’s look, characters and voice is something unique in the comic industry. Here’s hoping folks are willing to take a chance on this gem.

I try not to throw the word “classic” around that much when I write my comic book reviews. Who can know what will stand the test of time and become a book that people will look back on and consider a defining work in graphic literature?

But this once, I have to make an exception.

Mumbai Confidential is flat out brilliant, an instant classic that when people want to read a perfect example of noir storytelling in comics, this is the book they will look for.